1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to bait products for marine life and, more specifically, to a method for manufacturing cylindrical plugs from poultry litter for use as bait for marine life. The poultry litter undergoes an extrusion process resulting in a plurality of substantially cylindrical high-density plugs of various lengths to be used as bait. Furthermore, the extrusion process kills all inherent pathogens thereby preventing the transmittal of said pathogens to humans that consume the marine life that eats the bait. Fish by-products may also be used to enhance the effectiveness of the bait plugs.
Poultry farms have long looked for productive, cost-effective ways to dispose of or utilize the waste resulting from the manure and bedding material that comprise the poultry litter that is produced during modern poultry production without contaminating the surrounding environment. Poultry farms generate tremendous amounts of poultry litter and the environmentally safe removal thereof can be costly, thus, much work and research has been done to find ways to turn this plentiful waste product into a valuable resource. The processing of poultry litter for a variety of uses such as fertilizer, fuel and feed has become common and is necessary to remove pathogens that are present in raw poultry litter that can spread diseases when handled, mixed with soil or introduced into the food chain.
The method of the present invention involves the initial placement of raw poultry litter into an extruder where pressure is applied thereto to force it through constrictions. Pressure and friction heat the litter to a temperature of at least 200 degrees Fahrenheit for a predetermined amount of time. The heat produced by the extrusion process destroys the inherent pathogens thereby rendering the resulting poultry litter product to be safe for introduction into the environment as fertilizer, burning for fuel, for marine bait or feed or for using as feed for livestock. The process of the present invention further provides a means for the pelletization of the processed poultry litter which is compressed and extruded through at least one tube thereby forming the exiting poultry litter into pellets with a diameter conforming to that of the tube and a length which varies as the exiting material breaks off. The present invention provides a method of preparing poultry litter for use as a marine bait or feed product that is biologically safe and will not introduce pathogens into the marine life that eats it or into the humans that consume the captured marine life and will not cause any damage to the aquatic environment in which it is used. Furthermore, the poultry litter of the present invention is heated to a specific temperature for a predetermined amount of time to assure that the resulting poultry litter is of a high density.
Certain fish or shellfish derivatives and/or animal or vegetable products may also be added to the raw poultry litter prior to processing to increase the appeal of the resulting poultry litter bait product to the targeted marine life. Talc may also be added to improve the performance of the extruder and add to the density of the material produced.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There are other poultry litter processing methods known in the art. While these poultry litter processing methods may be suitable for the purposes for which they were designed, they would not be as suitable for the purposes of the present invention, as hereinafter described.
A primary object of the present invention is to provide a method for extruding poultry litter for use as bait for marine life.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a method for extruding poultry litter for use as bait for marine life wherein all pathogens are destroyed during processing.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a method for extruding poultry litter for use as bait for marine life wherein the poultry litter is heated to a temperature of no less than 200 degrees Fahrenheit for a predetermined duration during the extrusion process to destroy the inherent pathogens.
Still yet another object of the present invention is to provide a method for extruding poultry litter for use as bait for marine life wherein the temperature and duration that the poultry litter is processed determines the density of the resulting poultry feed bait product which must be extremely dense to maintain consistency when immersed, particularly when subjected to the erosive effect of tidal currents passing through the trap.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a method for extruding poultry litter for use as bait for marine life wherein fish by-products and/or animal or vegetable products are added to the raw poultry litter prior to or during the processing thereof.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a method for extruding poultry litter for use as bait for marine life that is simple to use.
One more object of the present invention is to provide a method and process for extruding poultry litter for use as bait for marine life that is inexpensive to manufacture.
Additional objects of the present invention will appear as the description proceeds.
The present invention overcomes the shortcomings of the prior art by providing a method for extruding poultry litter for use as bait for marine life. The resulting poultry litter bait product is pathogen free and extremely dense to maintain its consistency when submerged in liquid and subjected to the rigors of traveling through said fluid. Fish by-products and/or animal or vegetables may be added to the poultry litter prior to or during processing to enhance the effectiveness of the product.
The foregoing and other objects and advantages will appear from the description to follow. In the description reference is made to the accompanying drawing, which forms a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration specific embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. These embodiments will be described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention, and it is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and that structural changes may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. In the accompanying drawing, like reference characters designate the same or similar parts throughout the several views.
The following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the present invention is best defined by the appended claims.